Antimicrobial susceptibility of multidrug-resistant Gram negative bacteria to fosfomycin

Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2008 Jun;27(6):439-43. doi: 10.1007/s10096-007-0456-4. Epub 2008 Jan 23.

Abstract

We evaluated the antimicrobial activity of fosfomycin against a randomly selected sample of 30 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 30 Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and 30 Acinetobacter baumannii multidrug-resistant, clinical isolates from patients in a general tertiary care hospital in Athens, Greece. Standard laboratory methods were used for susceptibility testing to commonly used antibiotics and the detection of extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase (ESBL) and metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) production. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of fosfomycin for each isolate was determined by the agar dilution method. All K. pneumoniae isolates were both ESBL and MBL producers; all P. aeruginosa isolates were ESBL producers. The K. pneumoniae strains had fosfomycin MICs distributed across a range of 8-64 microg/ml; MIC(50) was 16 microg/ml and MIC(90) 32 microg/ml. The fosfomycin MICs of the P. aeruginosa strains had a distribution across a range of 4 to over 512 microg/ml; MIC(50) was 32 microg/ml and MIC(90) 128 microg/ml. The fosfomycin MICs of the A. baumannii strains had a distribution across a range of 64 to over 512 microg/ml; MIC(50) was 256 microg/ml and MIC(90) more than 512 microg/ml. Although standardized fosfomycin MIC interpretative breakpoints for the species studied are lacking, the findings of our study support the idea that fosfomycin may be further investigated as one among a decreasing list of therapeutic options for the treatment of infections due to multidrug-resistant strains of, primarily, K. pneumoniae and, secondly, P. aeruginosa.

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial*
  • Fosfomycin / pharmacology*
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / drug effects*
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / isolation & purification
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • beta-Lactam Resistance / genetics
  • beta-Lactamases / genetics
  • beta-Lactamases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Fosfomycin
  • beta-Lactamases